Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 29 Oct 2026.
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Third volume of Doris Lessing's Canopus in Argos: Archives. The American Knopf edition came first (Wikipedia dates it December 1980; library records give 1981, copyright 1980). The first British edition is Jonathan Cape, London, March 1981, a hardback in dust jacket of 288 numbered pages (ISFDB gives [xii] plus 288), about 22 cm, ISBN 0 224 01891 4, copyright 1980. The Knopf edition (ISBN 0394512316, viii plus 288 pages, 25 cm) is taller and is not the UK first. Later British issues include the Granada paperback (1982) and Flamingo (1994).
Read the full guide to Jonathan Cape first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
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Jonathan Cape, London, in 1981, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 29 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →7 min readTo identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
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